ELDER JEFF DESPAIN

Monday, August 22, 2011

We are doing so great here in Aruba, Elder Jensen got here safe and sound without any problems on Tuesday, and we have been working great!!! He is awesome!! He is from Layton Utah, and he has one older brother and one older sister, and he has two younger brothers, so their family is almost exactly like ours. He plays strong safety I think at Snow College in Utah (Dad probably played them when he played for EAC). We are doing fantastic. He actually knows a DeSpain girl that lives in Layton, we just can't remember her name, haha, maybe they're related to Rob DeSpain, Elder Clayton's Uncle, haha, one small world.

(We asked Jeff what his responsibilities are as a district leader.) So as district leader out in the islands, it's a little bit different, but for the most part the same thing as in the DR, I conduct district meeting, and I take numbers from Curacao every week and pass them on to the Assistants, and then I do baptismal interviews as well, but through the phone, pretty crazy, huh? Haha, it's a great privilege the Lord has entrusted me with and I hope that I can live up to that calling and serve Him in a way that pleases Him.

(We asked how things worked getting Elder LeCheminant to the airport on Sunday and getting the Curacao Elders into Aruba and back out and getting Elder Jensen in to be his new companion.) So when I had "mini" companions from the ward, for the most part I have to try to be with someone from the moment my companion leaves, but on Sunday, we just picked up the member and took him with us to the airport, and then he went with me to church and to Saint Nicholas (That's San Nicolas in English, but I've never seen Santa Clause there, haha). President Buckley stayed with me until the Curacao Elders flew in and then on Tuesday, President Buckley showed up and walked over to the airport just right after I dropped off the Curacao Elders, so I went with him again, he is a way funny guy. Pretty interesting. He just went with me to pick up Elder Jensen too, and that was that, haha.

So, Miriam and Daniel are progressing well, and we should be able to set a baptismal date with Miriam this week hopefully. We did find a lot of new people, but we had trouble getting them to come to church, so we will work on that this week. We are doing more work down in Saint Nicholas now, so hopefully there will be some investigators down there soon. We didn't get anyone in church this week down there, but hopefully soon.

To answer your question, I have been able to talk to my new Mission President once on the phone after he did an interview, but other than that, just emails. I asked the assistants about him coming down, and they said that they were going to talk to him about it, so it should be soon.

Yes, go ahead and send the package with the clothes in it. One thing, I'm really sorry, I don't know what happened, whether I'm getting fatter or what, but my pants are getting short, I swear that they're shorter than when I started, so if you could, it would be great to have pants just like a size longer, I'm really sorry. Thanks so much for getting the CD, and we would love any other CD's you could send us. They can be anything like churchy I think. Thanks so much, and sorry for the inconvenience.

Oh, tell Grandma Joy not to worry, I'm pretty sure that I've received all of the money, haha, no worries.

I am so grateful for the watchful eye of the Lord in my life. I read a talk that Dad sent to me where the guy giving the talk explained how Heavenly Father knows what our limits are. He knows how far we can go, and He won't give us a trial that we cannot pass through. He said that if we are going through hard times and struggling through trials, and they haven't come to an end yet, then that means that we can go further, that means that we have more strength, that we can make it. He knows us better than we know ourselves, and I know that we can make it through whatever trail may come our way, because He will not give us a trial that we can't pass through, but most importantly, because the Savior will walk alongside us. He has already passed through our trials-alone. He knows personally how it feels to be in our shoes, to be going through what we're going through, to suffer as we are suffering. I know that He can conquer our Goliaths, but I have also learned that that doesn't mean that He will just take the burdens off of our backs. Just as I read in a recent Ensign, sometimes the Lord strengthens our backs without lightening our burdens. I love what I read in that article, it says that even though the Lord might not take the burden off of our backs, He is always willing to walk along side of us and share our load, to feel what we feel, and be there for us always. I know that He lives and that He knows us by name and knows our trials as well.

Thank you so much for all that you do. I love you so much! Sorry, I couldn't attach pictures this time because I'm transferring them onto a flash drive to send the card home, so hopefully next week!! Love you!

The only items that are allowed to be sent through the pouch mail system are postcards and letters that are single sheet, folded into three-panels, and taped at the top only (no envelopes).
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You can use dearelder.com.....

They will print your letter and deliver it to Elder DeSpain at no charge! Just choose Dominican Republic Santo Domingo East Mission and click on "Write a Letter".
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Packages should be sent to the following Miami Florida Address: